US approved it’s second tanker has been seized by Iran.
According to Reuters, in the latest round of tensions between Tehran and Washington, Iran seized the second oil tanker in the waters of the Persian Gulf in the past week, and the US State Department demanded its release.
The Fifth Fleet of the American Navy based in Bahrain confirmed the seizure of this American tanker and announced: The Panamanian-flagged Navy tanker was seized by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy at 6:20 a.m. while passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
This incident occurred after Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker named Advantage Sweet in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday. The Marshall Islands Flag Registry announced on Tuesday that the tanker is being held by Iranian authorities in Bandar Abbas.
Maritime security firm Ambrey has also said it believes the seizure of Advantage Sweet was in response to the US’s recent seizure of an oil cargo on a Suez tanker. The US Navy announced in this regard: “The oil tanker Neway, which was seized on Wednesday, was moving from Dubai to the port of Fujairah in the UAE, and was forced to change its course towards the territorial waters of Iran by the boats of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.”
Refinitiv ship-tracking data shows the Newway last reported its position at 0231 GMT on Wednesday off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz bound for Fujairah.
Vedant Patel, the deputy spokesperson of the US State Department, told reporters that the Biden administration and the international community want Iran and its navy to release their ships and crews. Patel claimed: Harassment of ships and Iran’s interference in shipping rights in regional and international waters are contrary to international laws and disturb the stability and security of the region.
